All of us at Shapeways are excited to announce that our community now includes a world record-breaker. Renowned puzzle designer and long-time Shapeways community member Oskar van Deventer has seen his ambitious 17x17x17 rubiks cube go from a wild idea to a real-life 3D printed puzzle. Congrats Oskar!

Oskar started designing his puzzles as a boy at the age of 12 in the Netherlands. More than 30 years later, he has a reputation as one of the world’s most prolific puzzle creators. Oskar first started 3D printing twisty puzzles thanks to Bram Cohen, who began posing challenges to Oskar back in 2008. Today, several of his innovations are being sold in traditional toy stores and lots more are available through 3D printing in his Shapeways Shop. Most recently, Oskar’s twisty puzzles have been used as a very original way to propose.

When Oskar heard of the world records being set for twisty puzzles, like the 7x7x7, 9x9x9 and 11x11x11 by Panagiotis Verdes from Greece, he wanted to try his hand at setting a new record himself. With sponsorship from his close friend Claus Wenicker, Oskar set about designing and testing a number of prototypes, and his third attempt was printed successfully with Shapeways. Sorting and dyeing all 1539 pieces took Oskar 10 hours of work, followed by 5 hours of assembling. The result is an oversized (140 millimeter, 5.5 inches) and fully functioning “Over The Top” 17x17x17 puzzle.

Oskar will be in New York City on Saturday Feb. 12th, where he’ll be unveiling his “Over the Top” cube.

Ok, I thought those 5×5, 6×6 and 7×7 Rubik’s Cubes looked difficult, but this (unofficial) World Record 17x17x17 version has truly made my head spin. Using 3D printing technology, puzzle-maker Oskar van Deventer managed to create t…